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WASHINGTON - Rookie Finance Minister Joe Oliver says his attention will be on "raising all boats" in Canada rather than focusing specifically on income inequality.

The issue of income inequality - the growing gap between the world's wealthiest and the rest - has turned into a top policy concern and political buzzword in Europe, North America, and for emerging economies.

Oliver, who's attending the meeting, said there "are different policy approaches to that."

"What we're focused on is raising all boats," he said.

"And we have been successful at doing that. And that to us is clearly the best way to address the needs of every sector of the economy, including those who are economically disadvantaged or the poor."

The federal NDP and Liberals have made the gap between rich and poor a key part of their economic message - but Oliver said he has a bigger target.

"For us, the critical thing is that everybody do better - that means everybody at every level," he said.

Oliver also reiterated a recent promise to cut taxes for middle class families once the federal books were balanced in 2015 but added: "as to what proportion would be represented by debt reduction, reduced taxes or government spending is of course what the budget will ultimately reveal."

Political instability surrounding Ukraine after Russia's land grab of its Crimea region was high on the IMF agenda, and Oliver raised concerns the $18 billion IMF bailout package being negotiated for Ukraine is unlikely to meet the needs of the financially struggling nation.

Canada is committing $200 million to Ukraine as part of the IMF efforts, with another $20 million going directly to Ukraine.